


The Magic of Music

by ForcedToDoThis404



Category: Original Work, Pacific Rim (Movies), グラップラー刃牙 | Baki the Grappler, ジョジョの奇妙な冒険 | JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken | JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Animes, Games, I'll add more fandoms as I analyze more soundtracks, It's an exercise to improve my listening and analysis skills, Music, Other, Songs, Soundtracks, TV shows - Freeform, composers, movies - Freeform, music analysis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:33:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24599068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForcedToDoThis404/pseuds/ForcedToDoThis404
Summary: Listen and Learn...This is going to be an exercise for me, to listen to, and extrapolate details, motifs, themes, keys, etc., from pieces of music from animes, games, movies, etc.And you, the reader are here to learn, listen, discover, and possibly even teach (me). I do hope y'all are just as interested in music as I.The playlist I'll be listening from is here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8-jjSbJ5VKzhSfvM3aTMuFbrbjAghF1u
Kudos: 1





	1. Canceling the Apocalypse (Pacific Rim)

The piece is named "Canceling the Apocalypse" from Pacific Rim, composed by Ramin Djawadi. 

The link to the piece is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5lsRk8G4OE

My thoughts: 

The guitar at the start of the piece is hauntingly beautiful. The meaning of the piece is somehow conveyed in a single melody line that is the theme of the whole movie. The echo only helps in that endeavor in my opinion. 

I can't really tell the technical bits of the piece, like the scale, and whether it's major or minor, in that sense, I need to improve my skills in listening.

But I digress, after about 40 seconds of a guitar solo, it's joined by cellos that also carry the melody, with the same emotion and tone as the guitar. Violins join in soon after, and the piece shifts away from sentimentality and towards hope and the future, the tempo of the piece picking up as well, which in my mind aids that shift in tone. In addition to that, by the halfway point, in the gaps in the melody, the violin plays "replies" to the melody, but the cello and bass buried underneath the melody keep the piece moving forward. At the 2 minute mark, percussion joins in, and the melody takes a backseat as eighth/sixteenth notes take the front seat, driving the piece forward. The melody still sits on the cello, but the removal of a single note from the melody completely erases the emotion that can be heard at the start. It's part of a larger shift in emotion. It starts sounding heroic.

The tempo picks up, the piece gets louder, the instruments play higher and higher notes. By now, the melody has shifted to the brass and violins, which carry the new intensity well. The piece ends with a bang, as the 6 note melody is repeated 3 times, everything else cut out. 

I can't stress it enough. It's a beautiful piece. Give my compliments to the composer. 9/10

"Today. Today... At the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not only to believe in ourselves but in each other. Today there is not a man nor woman in here that shall stand alone. Not today. Today we face the monsters that are at our door and bring the fight to them! Today, we are canceling the apocalypse!" - Marshal Stacker Pentecost, 1985 - 2025.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to always comment your thoughts on my opinion, give corrections/suggestions, and recommend pieces. They don't even have to be from the playlist.


	2. Ultra Standard Out of Battle

The piece is named "Ultra Standard Out of Battle" from Baki composed by Kenji Fujisawa.

The link to the piece is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyoyIgBI_QI

My thoughts: 

The piece starts with what I believe is a timpani and a percussion line, as well as a haunting high pitched violin. A bit of echo and it becomes clear the tone is forlornness. The cello/bass has a triplet, followed by a longer note, and then 2 notes half the length of that. This cello/bass line occurs through the whole piece and gives a tone that I can't really tell besides what I previously established. Anyhow, a drum flourish, and we get introduced to the melody, a haunting two-note line by the violins or violas, a step up, then a step down, while the cello and percussion play on. 

A singular note starts at 40 seconds in, and crescendos, nearly drowning out everything else. A drum flourishes, and then the piece practically doubles in tempo. The cellos still play the same line, but an octave higher with no gaps in between the phrases now, triplet then a longer note and then 2 notes half the length of that, then circling back to the triplet and so on. It creates a sense of franticness and anxiety. In contrast to that, the melody remains slow, the violins now play a three-note melody that carries the same fear and emptiness set at the beginning. It's a shame that the piece dies back down at 1:01. I quite liked the increased tempo. At 1:33, there's another violin flourish, but it just signifies the end of the piece.

I quite like this piece, the cello is rhythmically interesting, and the percussion is to die for. But, this piece doesn't feel rewarding to listen to. The good part doesn't last long, which is the only bone I have to pick with it, really. Nonetheless, still a fun piece to listen to. 

7/10.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember to always comment your thoughts on my opinion, give corrections/suggestions, and recommend pieces. They don't even have to be from the playlist.


	3. Second Bomb (JOJO's Part 4)

The piece is named Second Bomb from JoJo's Bizarre Adventures Part 4, Diamond Is Unbreakable. It's composed by Yugo Kanno.

The link to the piece is: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4ZtwnHQ0Uk>

My thoughts: As a whole, the piece does what it's supposed to do, which is to create feelings of unease, fear, worry. It does so wonderfully while being something I can listen to while doing homework or working out. It even includes Kira Yoshikage's musical idea, his melody, his theme, which is a 4 B flats, then an A, then an A flat, then a B flat, then an A, then an A flat then G, then played again a minor third lower, ending with an E flat, D, D (final note of his motif).

But I digress. It's more than just the melody that makes a piece. There's the bomb sound at the beginning, which would reflect Kira's stand ability to turn anything and anyone into a bomb, as well as Sudden Cardiac Arrest (It's a fan name, don't @ me), as well as rewind time. The specific theme is about his second bomb, Sheer Heart Attack. There's an impressive use of percussion in this piece, as well as the use of a single track to create a hollow feeling, that something is missing. Sudden sounds, as well as tense strings, plucking, and the clicking of a stopwatch all add to the atmosphere of the piece. There's also synth sounds, but they're not really noticeable. All that I described occurs from the beginning of the piece to around 1:00. From here, the use of heavy brass begins, and there's an actual melody instead of a symphony of tense sounds and percussion. This is where the "good" part begins. 

At 1:08, a buildup begins. Rising strings, increase in volume. I have to say, the drums are rhythmically interesting. If anyone could tell me the specifics about the rhythm, you'd have my eternal gratitude. Anyways, 8 seconds of drums and string, then you're hit in the face with the wondrous Kira brass theme. God, that stuff is literal ear porn. The timbre of the trombone, I think, is done beautifully, and whereas in other contexts, it'd be used to convey power or wonder, here, it's used to convey desperation, as in the anime, characters desperately fight for their lives against a drone on the steroids not even Jack Hanma/Hammer can find. 1:22 brings in some more strings, which play 16th notes, I believe, to push the piece forward. 1:28 brings the higher frequency trumpets which change the tone from desperation into panic. A heart attack, if you will. 

The piece lets up at 1:40, and we hear the ticking of a stopwatch I mentioned earlier. 1:51, you're hit again with something. This time it's the bass end of a piano, playing C, G, D flat, G over and over (I believe, please correct me if I'm wrong). The brass returns at 2:04. 2:16 is the final iteration of Kira's theme, played on a trumpet, then a massive brass note to signify the end, hitting you in the face like a hammer while glass shatters in the background.

It's a fun piece to listen to, does what it's supposed to do in terms of tone, and yeah, it's a great piece. 8/10, give my compliments to the composer. I just wish the brass parts were longer and louder. I need more Sheer Heart Attack (I don't eat enough greasy stuff for that, unfortunately). 

"Kono Powa!" - Ocean Man


End file.
